Disposable protective apron



Oct. 26, 1965 s, LEWls 3,213,464

DISPOSABLE PROTECTIVE APRON Filed March 12, 1964 INVENTOR. SAMUEL LEWIS BY [WM M W AGENTS United States Patent 3,213,464 DISPOSABLE PROTECTIVE APRON Samuel Lewis, 670 Riverside Drive, New York 31, N.Y. Filed Mar. 12, 1964, Ser. No. 351,321 7 Claims. (Cl. 2-50) This invention relates to a disposable apron for use by barbers and in similar applications where sanitary, temporary protection for the wearer is required.

It is conventional for barbers to cover a customers body with a fabric apron while the customers hair is being cut. A towel is placed over the apron near the neck to avoid direct contact between apron and body. In order to prevent cut hair from falling into the space between the neck and the collar of the customers clothing, a sheet of tissue paper is usually stulfed into the collar. This arrangement is relatively cumbersome and not entirely satisfactory from the point of view of hygiene. It is not usual to launder the apron after each use, but only the towel. The paper stufling is discarded after use.

The object of this invention is the provision of a disposable apron which combines the functons of the conventional fabric apron with those of the towel and of the paper sheet. Another object is the provision of a protective apron so low in cost as to permit a new apron to be used for each customer, and to be discraded after US6- With these and other objects in view, the invention in one of its aspects consists of a hair cutting apron of pliable sheet material. A body part of the apron has an edge portion, and a neck part of the apron is joined to the edge portion. The neck part and the edge of the body part are elongated in a common direction, and the neck part is formed with at least two longitudinal creases spaced from each other and from the body part. The neck part is capable of being folded about the creases into a plurality of portions each of which is substantially longer than wide.

Other features and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed descriptions when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the invention in a view corresponding to that of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of the apron of FIG. 1 taken on the line III-III; and

FIG. 4 is a view of a modified embodiment of the invention analogous to that of FIG. 3.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, and initially to FIG. 1, there is seen the top portion of a hair cutting apron consisting of a major body part 1 and a minor neck part 2. The body part 1 is a substantially rectangular piece of crepe paper, and the neck part 2 is integral with the body part 1 and forms therewith a unitary structure.

The neck part extends only along a portion of the top edge of the body part 1 and the edge portion of the body part extends longitudinally beyond one terminal portion of the neck part. Where the neck part 2 joins the body part 1, the unitary paper sheet from which the apron is made has a crease 3 which extends along the length of the neck part. Two additional creases 4 and 5 parallel with the crease 3 divide the neck part 2 into three long and narrow strips of equal width.

While FIG. 1 shows the apron in the fiat condition in which it is preferably shipped, the operative condition of the sheet is illustrated in FIG. 3 in section on the line III-III of FIG. 1. The sheet of crepe paper is folded for use in such a manner that an acute angle is defined by the several portions of the neck part 2 at the creases 4 and 5, whereas an obtuse angle is formed at the crease 3.

The two portions of the neck part 2 which respectively extend between the creases 4 and 5 and between the crease 5 and the free edge 6 of the neck part are normally inserted between the neck and collar of a person whose hair is to be cut. The two terminal portions of the neck part 2 are arranged to overlap each other so that the neck part 2 forms a closed ring about the neck of the wearer. The body part 1 is thereby draped about his shoulders, chest, and back.

Because of the pliable, somewhat resilient nature of the crepe paper, the neck part of the apron forms a trough of V-shaped cross-section between the crease 4 and the edge 6. The edge 6 is resiliently urged against the neck of the apron wearer, whereas the portions of the neck part on either side of the crease 4 straddle the collar. Any hair that falls from the head of the person during hair cutting and which would normally find its way under the clothing through the gap between the neck and the collar is collected in the bottom of the trough adjacent the crease 5.

When hair cutting is completed, the barber withdraws the neck part 2 with the hair collected in the fold adjacent the crease 5 from the neck of his client, and discards the apron. No hair is spilled on the floor. A new apron is used for the next client.

The apron of the invention illustrated in FIG. 2 differs from that shown in FIG. 1 by a different location of its neck part 2' on the body part 1', and by the fact that the terminal portions 7, 7 of the neck part 2 are separated from the body part by respective notches 8 which in the showing of FIG. 2 have been made better visible by distortion of the neck part 2'. The central portion 9 of the neck part 2 is attached to the center of the top edge of the body part 1'. The embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 2 requires a slightly different technique in attaching to the neck part or collar of a wearers garment than that illustrated in FIG. 1, as will be appreciated with further explanation.

While I prefer to provide a crease 3 between the body part 1 of the apron and the neck part 2 as shown in FIG. 1, and a corresponding crease in the apron illustrated in FIG. 2, it is possible to omit a crease at the boundary between the body part and the neck part. As illustrated in FIG. 4, there may be formed only two creases 4 and 5 corresponding to two of the creases shown in FIG. 3. The border between the body part 1 and the neck part 2 is not distinctly marked. It will be appreciated that the modification of the neck part illustrated in FIG. 4 is equally applicable to the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 2.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing disclosure relates to only a preferred embodiment of the invention, and that it is intended to cover all changes and modifications of the examples of the invention herein shown for the purpose of the disclosure which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A protective garment of pliable sheet material comprising, in combination:

(a) a major body part having an edge portion; and

(b) a minor neck part joined to said edge portion,

(1) said neck part and said edge portion being elongated in a common direction, and

(2) said neck part being formed with at least two longitudinal creases spaced from each other and from said edge portions,

(3) said neck part being foldable about said creases into a plurality of portions, said portions of said neck part being substantially longer than wide.

2. A garment as set forth in claim 1, wherein said neck part is shorter than said edge portion, and said edge portion longitudinally projects beyond at least one longitudinally terminal portion of said neck part.

3. A garment as set forth in claim 1, wherein said neck part is joined to said body part over the entire length of said neck part.

4. A garment as set forth in claim 1, wherein said neck part has two longitudinally terminal portions, and a central portion intermediate said terminal portions, at least said central portion being joined to said edge portion, and at least one of said terminal portions and said edge portion defining a longitudinal notch therebetween.

5. A garment as set forth in claim 1, wherein said neck part and said body part consist of a unitary piece of sheet material.

6. A garment as set forth in claim 5, wherein said sheet material consists essentially of paper.

7. A garment as set forth in claim 1, wherein said body part and the several portions of said neck part are movable relative to each other toward and away from a position in which said body part and said neck part extend in a common plane.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,164,369 7/39 Woolever 2-49 2,654,092 10/53 Brcnnish 2-50 2,717,389 9/55 Gribble et al. 2-50 FOREIGN PATENTS 505,708 8/30 Germany.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner. 

1. A PROTECTIVE GARMENT OF PLIABLE SHEET MATERIAL COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION: (A) A MAJOR BODY PART HAVING AN EDGE PORTION; AND (B) A MINOR NECK PART JOINED TO SAID EDGE PORTION, (1) SAID NECK PART AND SAID EDGE PORTION BEING ELONGATED IN A COMMON DIRECTION, AND (2) SAID NECK PART BEING FORMED WITH AT LEAST TWO LONGITUDINAL CREASES SPACED FROM EACH OTHER AND FROM SAID EDGE PORTIONS, (3) SAID NECK PART BEING FOLDABLE ABOUT SAID CREASES INTO A PLURALITY OF PORTIONS, SAID PORTIONS OF SAID NECK PART BEING SUBSTANTIALLY LONGER THAN WIDE. 